People from different cultures have developed different languages. This does not mean that our languages have stated our different cultural behaviours. In order to develop a language, we must start with some knowledge. A child starts to form sentences that make sense when he is able to know what he is talking about and when he is able to understand the words. In that sense, many times we think first and then we add words or we link our thoughts with our language. Noam Chomsky’s theory suggests that all languages have common properties and therefore language is universal. These common rules are hard-wired into the brain and they manifest without being taught. His argument also states that humans growing under normal conditions will always develop a language that distinguishes nouns from verbs and function words from lexical words. So, following this theory, the type of language does not affect our perception of the world, since we are all following a universal grammar which is part of our nature. In addition, one can say that someone who speaks different languages will gain the same knowledge about science, history, geography and many other subjects, regardless the language in which he is learning.
Generally we know things because we are familiar with them because of experiences or what we have been told. We would not be able to know something just because of how it is called. What gives us the knowledge is what we experience or what we have understood. We would still know about something if we have no words for it and we would remember it even if we do not know how it is called. Additionally, we can say that we would also be able to think about something for which we do not have a name. Basically, that is how new concepts and words are created. We can not create a word without knowing its concept and without thinking about it first. For example, many times I forget the name of an object or I just do not know how an object is called, but I am able to understand how it works and for what it is used because I have used it before or I have learned from someone else. We can say that the words are used to be stored in our memory and to make it easier to remember something. Without words it would be difficult to remember our thoughts. Thinking about something unknown, our imagination, our creativity and the way we are able to discover make human beings different from other species and that is why it can be said that language is a consequence of the development of our knowledge instead of what defines our knowledge.
It has been proved that different types of language oblige their speakers to communicate in different ways. Different languages have different grammar and words, but their speakers do not necessarily interact or understand the world in different ways. For example, Mandarin Chinese does not use grammatical categories for the present, past and future tense. However, this does not mean that Chinese speakers can not conceptualize what is the present, past and future. In the same way, English, unlike Spanish, French or German, is a language that does not use grammatical gender to nouns, but English speakers are completely able to understand that other languages assign genders to nouns. However, since English speakers are do not require to think about gender when they talk about an object or since Chinese speakers do not think about time all the time, are their perceptions different than those who are oblige to think about gender for objects and time for moments? Some investigations show that as the genders of objects are different in Spanish and German, the way they link objects to certain characteristics are different. But, is this showing that our knowledge is affected? The Guugu Yimithirr language can be a clearer reference since their speakers use geographical coordinates (north, south, west, east) all the time instead of using egocentric coordinates (right, left, front, behind). It can be said that their knowledge of geography and their orientation is much more developed than English or Spanish speakers. However, English and Spanish speakers are not prevented from learning exactly the same because of their language.
Investigations regarding language and knowledge are not completely clear yet and more research should be carried on to understand entirely what the effect of language in our knowledge is. However, from the information we have and the analysis done I conclude that the extent and type of our language do not define our knowledge of the world. The improvement of our language and the way we interact with the world are a result of the development of our knowledge which is gained through experiences. There exists different cultures which different behaviors speaking the same language, or even deaf-mute people who can gain the same knowledge as an English speaker. Language does not limit our knowledge. I consider experiences and nurture as clearer factors that define our knowledge.
Mario Cabani
